the silence

eleven.

"i like it less now than i did before we lived here. it's like she's ruined it for me," he scrunched his nose, resting his hand on the couch. brett didn't say anything.

"i'm going to gather some things. you can sit down if you want," eddy gestured to the couch, shrugging again. brett nodded and sat down.

he didn't mean to fall asleep. he really didn't. but eddy's couch was very comfortable and he was very tired. the smaller boy drifted off almost immediately after eddy left the room, slumping over into a half-sitting, half-laying position. his hair fell in his face and his lips parted, his breathing soft and slow.

"alright, let's..." eddy began as he walked into the room, stopping in his tracks when he saw that brett was asleep. he had no idea what to do. waking him up hadn't been something eddy had liked doing and he didn't want to do it again.

sighing deeply, eddy walked out to his car and loaded his belongings in before going back inside. he bent down and scooped brett up into his arms. he was out. he hadn't even acted like he was tired, but he was sleeping like he'd been awake for days. eddy was worried, but brett was just a very heavy sleeper and could drift off almost anywhere.

as eddy picked him up, brett nuzzled his face in the taller boy's neck and cuddled into his chest. eddy felt his cheeks get hot and his heartbeat speed up as he carried brett to the car. he didn't understand why he was feeling that way, but he didn't want to think about the possibilities. he struggled to open the car door and laid brett in the seat, buckling him up. he winced as his watch beeped, signaling that they were about to be late. brett was not going to be happy.

    speeding with brett in the car was not something eddy wanted to do, so he decided that they were just going to have to be late. brett stayed fast asleep the entire way there and eddy sighed when it was time for him to wake him up.

    "brett, hey," he said gently, shaking his shoulder. brett frowned and rubbed his eyes.

    "hmm... what?" he groaned. eddy bit his lip.

    "it's time to go back to rehearsal. you fell asleep," he pushed brett's hair out of his face gently. the smaller man's eyes popped open and he sat straight up, unbuckling his seatbelt.

    "eddy! we're going to be late! why didn't you wake me up earlier?" brett shouted, getting out of the car. eddy frowned.

    "i'm sorry, i—"

    "it's okay. let's go," he interrupted, taking eddy's hand and dragging him towards the building. the taller boy blushed as brett's fingers intertwined with his.

they released each other's hands as they walked into the room together, hurrying as much as they could. the conductor noticed them and stopped what he was doing, crossing his arms.

"and where have you two been?" he said, visibly annoyed. the entire orchestra had turned around to look at them with disapproval clear on their faces.

"we, um.. lost track of time. i'm sorry. it won't happen again," eddy stammered, his heart pounding. brett was frozen to his spot with all those people looking at him. he was still partially asleep, his hair sticking up in every direction.

"is that true, mr. yang?" the conductor asked. brett swallowed hard, unable to form an answer. he could feel everyone's eyes on him and it felt like he'd pass out if it lasted any longer.

"mr. yang?" he repeated. brett managed to nod, sweat rolling down his forehead.

"alright then. sit down, both of you. don't ever make me do that again," he said.